The present invention relates to the field of barbecue devices for cooking food. In particular, this invention relates to barbecues devices wherein foods are cooked above a source of heat and smoked for added flavor.
One of the difficulties with existing barbecue units is that grease escaping from the heated food normally falls directly down into the heating system, which is usually located in a tray at the bottom of the unit, causing flare-ups and unwanted fire and smoke. This is particularly true when wood chips or other means are placed on top of the heating system to provide smoke for flavoring the barbecued foods. When covered with grease, wood chips or other smoke generating materials tend to ignite and burst into flame, become wet, or otherwise lose their effectiveness in providing smoke for flavoring. The best flavor is obtained from wood smoke, not burnt grease.
It is therefore a principle object of the present invention to provide a barbecue device wherein the smoke and heat generating materials are held in laterally disposed bins located generally above and to the side of the bottom tray and generally below the cooking zone, but not directly in line vertically with either of the above-mentioned structures.
A further object of this invention is to provide bins which are obliquely mounted on the side walls of the barbecue device for holding smoke and heat generating materials to permit easy filling and access thereto.
A further object of this invention is to provide a rotisserie-type barbecue device which subjects the smoke generating materials to heat from the heat generating materials without subjecting either of said materials to grease dripping from the barbecued foods.
A further object of this invention is to provide bins for holding smoke and heat generating materials laterally remote from the cooking zone of a barbecue device such that a rotisserie and a stationary grill rack are interchangeably mountable in the barbecue device.
A further object of this invention is to provide a barbecue device in which the bins for holding smoke and heat generating materials are located laterally remote from the cooking zone.
A further object of this invention is to provide bins for holding smoke generating materials which are located so as to prevent such materials from being dripped upon by grease from the food cooking above.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.